Kayaker finds body in kelp beds off La Jolla

LA JOLLA:
The body of a 58-year-old Pacific Beach man was found floating in the ocean among kelp beds west of the Children's Pool yesterday. It appeared the man had been in the water at least 24 hours, San Diego lifeguards said.

A kayaker spotted the body about 300 yards offshore and used his cell phone to call 911 about 5 p.m., Lifeguard Service Lt. Greg Buchanan said.

Lifeguards on a personal watercraft and rescue boat found the body within minutes. It was placed in the rescue boat and brought to the lifeguard headquarters in Mission Bay.

The man was identified, but his name was not released last night. The Medical Examiner's Office said the man sent his brother a letter Tuesday saying he planned to commit suicide. –P.R.

Woman found dead in apartment; man arrested

SAN DIEGO: A woman was found dead inside an apartment in Talmadge yesterday, and officers arrested a combative man outside after they subdued him.

San Diego police received a report about 5:30 a.m. that someone was screaming, smashing windows and throwing out belongings in a complex on 47th Street south of Monroe Avenue, said Lt. Kevin Rooney.

When officers arrived, they found a 63-year-old man walking down the stairs from his second-story apartment, Rooney said. They ordered him to stop, but he continued to walk toward them with clenched fists, screaming unintelligibly, Rooney said.

Officers sprayed pepper spray and fired bean bags at the man, but the weapons had no effect, Rooney said.

They wrestled with the man, who kicked and struggled until he was shot with a Taser and fell to the sidewalk, Rooney said. Officers entered the apartment, with its front windows broken and door ajar, and found the woman's body, Rooney said.

Officials have not released the name of either the man or the woman. Rooney said he did not know how the woman was killed.

The man was taken to a hospital for injuries suffered during the arrest and was to be booked into jail on suspicion of murder. –D.B.

Tip leads to library arrest of fugitive sex offender

SAN DIEGO: A convicted child molester wanted for failing to register as a sex offender was arrested yesterday at a library in Rancho San Diego after authorities received a tip.

Charles Thomas, 67, was arrested while sitting at a computer, Deputy U.S. Marshal Omar Castillo said.

Authorities had been searching for Thomas since shortly after his release on parole from a Texas federal prison in January. He was put on a bus to San Diego, but when he arrived, he faxed prison officials declaring he was releasing himself from any supervision, Castillo said.

California officials also wanted him on a separate parole violation.

Thomas' multiple convictions include child molestation and forcible rape, drug and child-pornography possession and evading arrest in a stolen car.

Yesterday, county fugitive task force officers received information that Thomas was possibly at a library in Rancho San Diego or El Cajon. Officers went to both locations. –K.D.

In other crime news

SAN YSIDRO: A 16-year-old girl posing as a construction worker was arrested about 6 a.m. yesterday after Border Patrol agents discovered 13 illegal immigrants crammed into the pickup she was driving, the Border Patrol said. The truck was disguised as a vehicle from Kiewit Corp., which is building a secondary border fence west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. –K.D.

MIRA MESA: Three men climbed through the drive-through window of a Burger King on Mira Mesa Boulevard near Viper Way about 2 a.m. yesterday and locked three employees in the freezer before fleeing with cash, police said. One robber had a knife. –J.L.J.

SAN DIEGO: A woman was attacked while walking to the Serra Mesa Library on Aero Drive near Corporate Court about 8 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The woman, 33, was grabbed from behind but fought off the attacker and ran to the library for help. She was not injured. –J.L.J.

Teen killed in off-road
crash was from Alpine

EAST COUNTY: The teenager killed in an off-road crash on the Barona Indian Reservation on Wednesday has been identified as Christian Stover of Alpine, the Medical Examiner's Office said.

Stover, 16, was a sophomore at El Capitan High School in Lakeside, school officials said. He played on the school's golf team and was an experienced sprint-car racer.

Students created a makeshift memorial for him in the school's parking lot.

The crash, involving a quad-type vehicle, happened near Wildcat Canyon and Featherstone Canyon roads about 7:15 p.m., the California Highway Patrol said. The teen died of head injuries about 7:40 p.m., the Medical Examiner's Office said. –L.S.

Man found dead in hot tub
drowned, authorities say

SAN DIEGO: A San Diego man who was found dead in a resort hot tub during a celebration of his 21st birthday drowned, according to autopsy results released yesterday.

The Medical Examiner's Office said alcohol and cocaine also might have contributed to the accidental death of Michael David Mayfield.

Mayfield was found facedown in the hot tub at Paradise Point Resort & Spa in Mission Bay early Tuesday, –K.D.

Testimony: Stabbed student bled to death

SAN DIEGO COURTS: A Mesa College student bled to death after being stabbed in the heart during an altercation with four men, including the son of former Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, according to testimony yesterday in San Diego Superior Court.

Steven Campman, a deputy medical examiner, testified that the body of Luis Santos, 22, had several knife wounds, including one that “went through the heart.” Santos died Oct. 4.

Esteban Núñez, Ryan Jett, Rafael Garcia and Leshanor Thomas are charged with murder in Santos' death. The men are in a preliminary hearing in which a judge will determine whether enough evidence exists to proceed to trial.

Prosecutors have said that hours after being turned away from a party, the group returned and challenged Santos and four others to a fight near Peterson Gym by San Diego State University.

Santos also suffered a stab wound in his left lung and had extensive blood loss that probably was “a mechanism of death,” Campman said.

His body, which tested positive for traces of marijuana, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.22 percent, Campman said.

Three others were hurt in the brawl.

The four defendants, all from Sacramento, have pleaded not guilty. A friend of the defendants testified Wednesday that they acted in self-defense. –A.M.

Ex-wrestling coach pleads
not guilty to felony counts

SAN DIEGO COURTS: A former wrestling coach at Westview High School accused of providing pornography and marijuana to a teenage girl pleaded not guilty yesterday to felony charges.

Ryan Carnell, 28, was charged with sending harmful matter to a minor and furnishing marijuana to a minor older than 14.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Kerry Wells allowed Carnell to remain out of county jail on $60,000 bail. The judge ordered him to stay away from the girl and away from Westview High in Rancho Peñasquitos.

Neither his attorney nor the prosecutor discussed details of the case during the brief arraignment.

A Poway Unified School District spokeswoman said Carnell no longer coaches at the school. In a news release, she said that Carnell, whose background check came up clear, was a volunteer wrestling coach at Westview from Nov. 10, 2007, to March 7.

He was not a member of the regular faculty or staff.

According to the release, school officials contacted Child Protective Services and law enforcement when the matter was brought to their attention. A subsequent investigation led to Carnell's arrest. –D.L.